1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to the cutting of glass by means of an abrasive fluid jet, and more particularly to the formation of a rounded or so-called radius edge on the glass as it is cut by the abrasive fluid jet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Flat glass has conventionally been cut or severed by scoring a surface of the glass sheet and then flexing the glass along the score line to cause it to fracture therealong. Such a procedure generally results in a raw glass edge having sharp corners which are not only aesthetically objectionable but also in many instances unsuitable for subsequent fabricating processes. Consequently it may be necessary to subject the raw glass edge to an additional edging step wherein the glass edge is rounded or ground off as with abrasive belts. Such a step, of course, adds considerably to the cost of fabricating the finished glass part. More recently glass has been advantageously cut employing a high pressure abrasive fluid jet. Such a procedure has been found particularly advantageous in cutting so-called heavy glass and in cutting intricate patterns from a glass blank. While the techniques employed heretofore in abrasive fluid jet cutting of glass generally produce cut edges of much higher quality than those produced by the aforementioned scoring and flexing technique, the resulting edges are planar so that a distinct line is created along the intersection of the cut edge with the major surfaces of the glass sheet, and the sheet has a square edge generally normal to the major surfaces of the sheet. Such an edge configuration may not be suitable in many instances for subsequent fabricating steps or for many end uses of the sheet. Thus, it may again be necessary to subject the cut edge to additional edging or seaming as with an abrasive belt to round off the edge and eliminate either one or both of the distinct lines or corners along the intersection of the edge with the major surfaces of the sheet.